


If Things Were Different

by allmylovesatonce



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-08-27 10:21:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8397862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmylovesatonce/pseuds/allmylovesatonce
Summary: What if Amy had gone to the bar after her first date with Teddy? What if she'd found Jake there? What could have happened?





	1. Chapter 1

When the day started, Jake never would have envisioned himself sulking in a bar drinking alone at the end of the day. And yet, that’s what happened. Everyone else had cleared out. Terry and Holt had gone home to their spouses. Charles had gone home with his fiancée. Rosa had bailed surprisingly early. Gina had left too. And Amy had never even shown up. Because she was with someone else too. So he was alone. It was pretty typical. The difference was that now it was bothering him. He didn’t want to be alone. He wanted to be with someone. Someone specific. He ordered another beer and continued to sulk.

“Hey! Where is everyone?”

Jake turned to see Amy approaching the bar. He was confused. Had he conjured her with his thoughts? “What?”

She sat down next to him and turned to face him. “Where is everyone? I figured the squad would still be celebrating.”

Jake looked around. The bar was pretty empty. “Yeah, everyone just kinda bailed. I don’t know.” Amy looked disbelieving. “What are you doing here?”

“I said I was going to stop by after my date,” she explained.

Jake nodded. “Oh yeah. How was that?” He didn’t know why he even asked. Maybe he wanted her to say it was terrible.

“It was fun,” Amy answered. Well, that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

“Nice,” he said halfheartedly.

He looked back at her and she was evaluating him. “Are you okay?” she asked, leaning closer to him.

“Sure,” he answered, shrugging. “Why?”

She was still staring at him like she was trying to figure him out. “I don’t know. You just don’t seem like yourself. How much have you had to drink?”

Jake eyed his beer. “I don’t know, a few beers?”

The bartender burst out laughing. “Yeah, okay. A few…” He kept laughing as he cleaned glasses.

Jake glared at him. “Hey, man. Be cool.”

Amy chuckled. “Oh my God, how much have you had to drink, Jake?”

Jake shrugged indifferently. “I don’t know. I guess I lost count…” Amy gaped at him. “What? I was celebrating.”

“That’s not celebrating. That’s just getting drunk,” Amy countered.

“Whatever. It’s not like I have to work tomorrow,” Jake reasoned. Without even looking over, he could feel Amy’s scrutiny. He looked over at her. “What?”

“Oh nothing,” she replied in a high voice. It sounded like Boyle’s assuming voice. He stared at her blankly. “Yeah, that wasn’t good. I just sounded like Boyle.” Jake laughed lightly. She smiled brightly at him. She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”

He looked at her hand and then back up to her. “Amy, I’m fine.”

“You don’t seem like you are though,” she insisted. She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Is this because you went Upsy-Downsy?” She laughed.

Jake groaned. “We promised never to speak of it again!”

Amy laughed harder. “No, _you_ asked that we never speak of it again and I said I couldn’t do that. Because it was really dumb.”

He gave her his best puppy dog impression. “Please, Amy, please forget it ever happened.”

She laughed and shook her head defiantly. “Sorry, Jake, it’s just too good. Too easy to make fun of you.”

Jake shook his head and took a drink from his beer.  Amy reached over and took a drink from his after he set it back down. Jake looked at her incredulously. “What?” she asked.

“Didn’t you once refuse to share something with me because you said I probably had diseases from being messy,” Jake reminded her.

She looked guilty. “Yeah, but the bar is about to close so I don’t want to order my own drink.”

“What? The bar isn’t about to close.”

“Yes it is,” the bartender agreed.

“Great,” Jake glowered, “I guess I should go home then.”

Amy leaned across the bar. “Hey, should he be driving?” She asked quietly. Jake could still hear her though. The bartender looked at Jake and then back at her before shaking his head. Amy nodded once and turned back to Jake. “So you about ready to go?”

Jake took another drink from his beer. “Amy, it’s okay. I can get home.”

Amy stared at him pointedly. “Jake, don’t be an idiot just because you’re being weird.”

Jake protested. “I’m not being –”

“Weird,” Amy interrupted. “I know.”

“I can just take a cab,” Jake offered.

“What is so wrong with letting a friend give you a ride home?” Amy argued. Amy was right. He was being weird. But she had no idea that her use of the word “friend” just fed into it. He didn’t really know how to be around Amy right now. But at the same time he really wanted to spend time with her. It was quite the conundrum. As it was, he didn’t see how he could refuse a ride with her.

He shrugged and nodded and downed the rest of his drink for good measure. “Let’s go,” he sighed.

The ride back to his apartment was spent with Amy one-sidedly talking about the best parts of Tactical Village. Jake just muttered his assent every now and then. She talked about different weapons, how great they were as a team, and her hopes for next year’s scenario. Thankfully she didn’t mention her date. She pulled up at his place and he sat there for a second.

He looked over in her direction. “Thanks for the ride.”

She smiled. “Of course. If you want, I can pick you up in the morning and take you back to your car.”

He shook his head. “Nah. I can make Boyle do it.”

“Jake it’s really no problem,” Amy insisted.

Jake shook his head. “Eh, it’s fine. Really,” he assured her, finally making eye contact with her.

Amy opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. She looked like something was really bothering her. “You know what I’ve always liked about our partnership? That we tell each other anything,” She answered her own question, staring at him pointedly. He sighed. “Like when you told me about tiny, insignificant things like the TV show you watched the night before. Or more important things like how you felt when you thought I was going to leave the Nine-Nine.” She paused.

He didn’t say anything. He knew her well enough to know she wasn’t finished talking. “We’re partners and we’re friends. And we trust each other. Like how even though you make fun of me a lot, I know it’s all good natured and that you actually respect me and care about our partnership. So then I can tell you things about my life or how I’m feeling because I know that even if you make fun of me for it, at the end of the day you don’t really mean it. So if that’s what it is, that you think I’m going to make fun of you, I promise you that if I do it’ll be good natured. Like when I will inevitably bring up the Upsy-Downsy in the future,” she ended, inhaling quickly, signaling that she had run out of air but also points to make.

“Dear God, woman. That was a lot,” Jake said.

“Well I just want to know what is wrong with you. When I walked into the bar you were sulking and you were all alone. And I figured maybe you were sulking because you were alone. But then it didn’t change when I sat down with you. You still just looked down. Like you hadn’t just broken the course record and made a perfect run on one of your favorite days on the job. I just don’t get what’s getting you down. So as a good friend and partner, I’m going to drag it out of you even if I have to use physical force to do so,” Amy assured him.

Jake stared at her like she was crazy. He shook his head humoredly and then looked back out the windshield. He sighed grandly. “I was mad…about Teddy,” he choked out.

“Teddy? Why? Because he bragged about setting the course record? You broke that like 20 minutes later,” Amy reminded him.

“No, it wasn’t that,” Jake answered coyly.

“So…” Amy prodded.

“I was upset, or whatever, that…that he beat me to it,” Jake said lamely.

“Beat you to what?”

Jake continued staring out the windshield. He couldn’t look at Amy. “To…” he started, “To asking you out,” he finished quietly. There was a prolonged silence in the car. It made Jake feel uncomfortable. Well, even _more_ uncomfortable. Jake clicked his tongue and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Yeah, so thanks again for the ride home. This was great,” he said sarcastically. “I’ll, uh, see you at work.” He opened the car door and quickly jumped out.

“Jake, wait!” Amy called after him.

Jake ducked down and looked back in the car. “Amy, it’s fine,” he said with a shrug.

“Jake, don’t go,” she pleaded.

He shook his head. “Have a good night, Amy.” He shut the door and walked toward his building. He didn’t look back to see if she was waiting or if she was going to follow him or something. He just kept walking. He opened the door to his building and walked inside. He bent over and put his hands on his knees, breathing harshly. Straightening back up, he whispered to himself, “Holy crap, what have I done?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided where I really want to go with this story which will end up making it more drawn out. So here is another relatively short chapter. I'll have more to add soon (hopefully)!  
> I'd love to know what you think! Thanks for reading!

It was Sunday afternoon and Jake had barely left his apartment since Amy had taken him there. He had made Boyle pick him up so he could get his car. But by no means did he inform Boyle of what he’d confessed to Amy. Boyle chatted one-sidedly most of the way there. Now he was laying on his couch watching TV, trying not to think about how uncomfortable work would be the next day. That’s when he heard the knock on the door. He opened the door without looking. Amy walked right past him and into his apartment.

“I have this problem. I got this text yesterday and I don’t know how to answer it,” she said without preamble.

“Ahh, yes, hello to you too,” Jake replied as he followed her into the room. “What are you doing here?”

She held up her phone as a point. “Like I said, I don’t know how to reply to this text.”  

Jake stared at her, completely confused. “So you literally just came here to have me help you answer a text?” Jake asked, exasperated.

“Yeah, it’s a text from Teddy. He wants to know if I want to go out again,” she clarified. Jake looked down. He felt ashamed. He had messed things up for her. She probably came here under the guise of answering a text so she could yell at him. “See, it’s funny because Friday, before I ran into you, I would have known exactly how to respond. But then I ran into you and you…said what you said. And now I don’t know.”

“Okay, let’s not forget that you, _you_ dragged it out of me. I was just going to keep the way I was feeling to myself but you pushed and you pushed and you made me feel guilty for keeping anything from my partner and so I said it. But let’s not forget your involvement in it,” Jake replied quickly.

Amy held up her hands. “Fair enough. I did annoy you into speaking.”

Jake shrugged. “I wouldn’t use the word annoy, per se. Guilt. I would definitely use the word guilt.”

Amy laughed. She looked up at Jake. “I guess the real reason I came here is to just talk to you.”

“Well mission accomplished. We’re talking,” Jake joked.

Amy didn’t look amused. She looked down at her feet. “How long have you felt this way?”

Jake sighed. He sat down on the arm of his couch and scratched the back of his neck. “A while,” he answered, purposefully not looking at Amy.

“Huh. I had no idea,” Amy replied.

“I mean you know me, I’m not really one to shout my feelings or anything.”

Amy walked over and sat on the other arm of the couch. She basically mirrored his position. He looked over at her and she just looked confused.  He felt bad that he’d made her feel that way. He stood up and walked to stand in front of her. There was a nugget of courage in him making him move and speak.

“Look, Amy,” he started. She looked up at him. “Do what _you_  want to do. I was never going to put you in this position. And I’m sorry that I did. I should have just lied and said it was about Upsy-Downsy,” he said with a chuckle. She chuckled too. “I don’t want to mess things up with Teddy for you. You guys seem nerdily perfect for each other. And I don’t honestly know how we’d work. I mean, I know it sounds really nice, but I don’t know much past that. Here’s what I do know, though. Whatever you decide, I will respect that. I won’t make work weird or anything. You were right when you said that I care about our partnership. And that I respect you. I do. And I don’t want this weirdness right now to get in the way of our work relationship because it’s pretty great. So do what you want to do. Choose Teddy. Or me. Or nobody. I’m not going to try and make up your mind for you. Okay?”

Amy stared at him for a while before she nodded. She looked down at her phone in her hand. He really hoped that she wouldn’t reply to Teddy right there. She stood up. “Well I guess I need to answer this,” she said with a heavy sigh. She looked up at Jake almost expectantly.

“Still not going to help you answer it, Ames,” he assured her. She smiled.

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Amy replied. She looked around his apartment, probably taking in the mess. “I’m sorry that I just came by with no warning. I should have at least let you know I was coming or something.”

Jake surveyed his mess. “Oh, this mess would likely still be here anyway, so…”

“I just meant it was rude to not give you any warning. I’m sorry,” she explained.

He shook his head with a smile. “No need to apologize. Really.”

“Thanks, Jake,” she said with a small smile. She reached out and squeezed his wrist before walking to the door and leaving.

Jake closed the door behind her, going back over everything that had just happened in the span of like five minutes. He had so many conflicting hopes running around in his mind. He hoped Amy understood that he’d really like to be with her, but he also hoped she didn’t think he was pressuring her. He didn’t want to give off the vibe of a jerk who begged her to choose him. How pathetic would that be? Jake threw himself down on his couch. He knew that the rest of the day was likely a goner because all he was going to do was think about Amy and her decision.

**

Jake was sitting at the table in the break room, eating his breakfast when Amy walked in for her coffee. He was determined to be cool around her. He wasn’t going to bring up anything that had happened over the weekend. Not any of it. Especially not when Charles could overhear.  He’d coached himself the entire way to work on ways to be cool and calm around her. He just had to act as he always acts. The only issue was that he couldn’t remember exactly how he’d always acted. Like what did he normally do with his hands? Luckily his cereal bowl could help out with that one. He clutched it carefully, not wanting to look too aggressive.

Amy turned around and spotted Jake. She smiled and sat down at the table with him. “Hey.”

He looked up at her as if it was the first time he was noticing she was there. “Hey. Hi.”

“How’s it going?” At least she seemed tense too.

He shrugged. “Same ol, same ol, girl.” He visibly winced at his statement. He shook his head. “I’m good. My cereal is a little stale though,” he added, pointing to his bowl.

She nodded. “Well maybe if you rolled up the bag and closed the box that would keep it a bit fresher longer,” she offered. Nice save on Santiago’s part. It felt normal again. She was just lightly scolding him on how to be an adult.

“Good tip. I should remember that with the next bag. This one’s already a goner.”

They both nodded at each other. Then silence. Jake didn’t know where to go from here. He didn’t know how to ask what she did about the text. He didn’t know if it was his place to ask. Luckily Charles and Rosa both walked in to the break room and eased the pressure.

“Hey guys. How’s it going?” Charles asked.

“Good!” they said in unison. They looked at each other with wide eyes.

Amy continued so it wouldn’t seem suspicious. “I’m just waiting to hear back from Forensics before I can go forward with my case.” Jake nodded emphatically.

“So Amy, how’d your date go on Friday? I’m guessing well if you never stopped by the bar,” Rosa asked.

Amy looked at Jake briefly before looking at Rosa. “It was good.” Simple, to the point.

“Hmm. I’d have figured you’d have more to say. You guys seemed nerdily perfect for each other,” Rosa added.

Amy threw her hands up in the air. “Why does everyone keep saying that?” she whined, looking at Jake.

“Who’s everyone?” Boyle asked, looking back and forth between Jake and Amy.

“To be fair, Amy, you did meet at a code memorization camp for _adults_. I mean that’s pretty nerdy, don’t you think,” Jake replied.

Amy folded her arms in front of her chest and sulked. “Whatever.”

“So are you going to see him again?” Rosa asked. Jake and Amy both looked at Rosa curiously. “What?” she asked.

“Since when are you so interested in any of our lives?” Jake asked. “I’ve never heard you ask this many questions outside of an interrogation room.”

“I just want to know if I should actually learn this guy’s name or give Amy my true thoughts on him,” Rosa informed them. They stared at her with shocked expressions. “What? I just want to know if he’s gonna stay around. I didn’t learn Vivian’s name until Boyle proposed.”

“Well to be fair, that was so fast almost none of us could learn her name before Boyle proposed,” Amy teased. Boyle shook his head at her with a grin.

“So, Amy, you didn’t answer Rosa’s question,” Charles prodded.

Amy took a deep breath. Jake was holding his. “Um…no.” Jake tried to keep himself from celebrating. He still had no idea what this meant. “He asked me out again but I said no,” Amy explained.

“Why?” Charles pressed.

Amy paused. “I guess he’s just not…what I want right now,” Amy explained, looking from Rosa to Charles and ending with Jake, seemingly on purpose. He felt like his body was on fire and there was nothing he could do about it. Her gaze was burning into his face and it was incredible. He felt like she was basically telling him that she turned down Teddy for _him_.

“Huh,” Rosa grunted, snapping Jake and Amy back to reality. “Well good for you. Don’t date someone you don’t want to,” she said before striding out of the break room.

Charles was staring between Jake and Amy. Jake couldn’t tell if he suspected something or if he was just waiting for the moment to spring it on Amy that Jake liked her.  Jake wasn’t sure what was going to happen so he stood up quickly, nearly knocking the rest of his cereal over and he left the break room. He could find work to do to avoid the questions in his mind. He often worked to avoid things. This would just be another day of it. At least until he could actually talk to Amy. He needed to talk to Amy.


	3. Chapter 3

Jake and Amy were sitting at their desks working when Charles and Terry walked into the bullpen whooping. “Guess who just solved a _huge_ case?” Terry asked excitedly.

“You guys were working a case together?” Rosa asked curiously.

“Yeah? And a big one?” Amy followed up.

Charles and Terry stared at them disappointedly for a beat. “Yes, ladies, the Sergeant and I were working that double homicide. Don’t you guys remember? I briefed you about it recently,” Charles reminded them.

“Ohhh, right, _that_ one,” Jake faked. He turned back to Rosa and Amy and shook his head.

“Whatever,” Terry replied. “The point is, we solved it. So this calls for celebratory drinks. Tonight!”

“Tonight?” Jake asked. “It’s a Monday…”

“Plus we went out on Friday,” Rosa added. Amy nodded in agreement with the two of them.

“You know if it was any of you guys who’d solved a big case that you would be demanding that we join you for drinks. Come on, support me and Boyle!” Terry pleaded.

“It doesn’t have to be for very long,” Charles conceded. “And Amy you didn’t even come out with us on Friday…” he added.

Amy huffed. “Okay. I’m in.”

Jake looked back at her. He turned back to the other two. “I guess I’m in, too.”

Soon Rosa fell and Gina decided to tag along. Jake tried to make it seem like he didn’t want to go, but after Amy agreed, there was no other place he wanted to be.

Rosa, Charles, and Jake were sitting at a table together. Amy was getting a drink. Gina and Terry were talking to Captain Holt who’d ended up joining them. Charles was telling Rosa and Jake all about his big case and how he and Terry had cracked it. Jake wasn’t really listening. He couldn’t help but watch Amy. He had so many questions in his head. So many questions he hoped she had answers for.

“And then we realized the handprint had to belong to Nick because he was the one with the messed up thumb,” Charles exclaimed. Rosa nodded like she was impressed.

Amy walked over to the table with a beer and a smirk. “I was thinking about playing darts. Anyone want to play?”

Jake perked up immediately. He tried to seem casual. “You know what, I could play darts. You need some good competition anyway,” he said with a challenging tone.

“Anyone else to join?” Amy asked politely.

“You mean join your pissing contest? No thanks,” Rosa replied. Charles nodded in agreement with Rosa.

“Fine,” Amy responded. “I guess it will just be me and Jake then.” They got their drinks and walked over to the dart board. Jake looked around. Rosa and Charles were fairly close to the pool table. Holt, Gina, and Terry were near the bar. This was seemingly the only place they could have a semi-private conversation inconspicuously and not be overheard. Did Amy plan this?

“You ready to lose at darts?” Amy challenged.

Jake scoffed at her. “Yeah, sure. Show me your best,” he laughed.

She threw her first dart and looked at him smugly as she landed close to the bullseye. He stared at her over his beer before he picked up his first dart to throw. They were pretty evenly matched. So usually it always turned competitive. That was why their friends had pretty much ruled against playing with them.

They were a few throws in when Amy hit just outside the center. She jeered at Jake before he stepped up to throw. “You think that’s good?” He mocked. “Watch this.” He looked at her as he threw. He smirked before looking to see where his dart landed. It was at the base of the board. Amy laughed hysterically. “Damn it. That was supposed to be the bullseye.”

Amy stepped up with her next dart. “Maybe actually look next time.”

“Nah, looking is for suckers,” Jake argued.

They were having a good time but all Jake could think about was Amy’s decision. Finally he plucked up the courage to ask. “So you know I have to ask,” he started.

“How I got so good at darts?” Amy asked smugly.

“Yeah, sure, that was what I was going to ask,” Jake replied sarcastically. “No. Actually, I was, uh, wondering why you said no to another date with Teddy…” he asked hesitantly.

She looked over at him before looking back at the dart board. She shrugged. “Well it was like I told Rosa and Charles. It wasn’t what I wanted.”

“Sure. Anything more to that…by chance…?” Jake asked, hating himself for prying.

Amy turned back and looked at him. “Yeah,” she said simply. She picked up her beer and stared at him over her glass. Jake nodded nervously, stepping up to make his next throw. His hand was almost shaky as he threw it.

Amy walked over and stood next to him, surveying the board. She placed her hand on his shoulder. He almost jumped. He looked at her hand and then over at her. She was looking at him meaningfully. “Look, Jake,” she started.

“Oh God, who let you two play darts?” Gina asked, walking toward them. They jumped apart, turning to look at her.

“Well Rosa and Charles wouldn’t join us,” Jake explained.

“For a good reason. You guys are the worst,” Gina retorted.

“What do you want, Gina?” Amy asked bluntly. Jake looked over at her, impressed.

“Terry left. Holt is about on his way out. Decided to peruse the bar, as it were,” Gina explained.

“Wait, Terry left?” Amy asked, exasperated. Gina just nodded. “Then screw that. I’m gonna go home.”

Jake felt deflated. Maybe he and Amy wouldn’t get to the bottom of anything after all. He could wait. He didn’t want to pressure her or do anything stupid. Gina shrugged and walked away. Jake watched her walk over to Rosa and Charles’s table as he tried to hide his disappointment.

Amy turned to Jake stiffly. “I think I’m gonna go home. I just have a lot to do tomorrow. But, uh, as it stands, I kicked your ass at darts,” she concluded with a laugh.

“Oh whatever,” Jake scoffed. “That was an even match, easily.”

Amy shook her head defensively. They started bickering about darts and it was like it always was for them. Amy laughed. She grabbed her purse and they both stopped talking. She looked at him, standing closer to him than she normally did. “Hey, do you mind walking me to my car?” she asked.

Jake saw this for what it was. Amy was a strong woman and also a cop. She never had someone walk her to her car. Unless she had a good reason to. Jake shrugged and motioned for her to lead the way.

She led him out of the bar and to her car parked down the street. Jake’s car was pretty close to hers as it was. They both paused next to her car. Jake rocked back on his heels. “So, uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said nervously.

He started to walk away from her car but she grabbed his arm. “Jake, wait.” He paused and stepped back to where he’d just been standing. He looked at her, noting that she looked as nervous as he felt.

“I want to answer your question.” She paused, like she was thinking of what to say. “I said no to Teddy because I was more interested in this,” she explained, with a hand motioning between them. “You’re a great guy, Jake. And when you said what you said on Friday, it was literally all I could think about. I almost called you like 20 times to talk to you about it but I could tell you wouldn’t really want to.” He laughed. She was right about that. “I think if we were, I don’t know, smart about this, it could be fun to see where this could go.”

Jake chuckled. “You’re gonna want to make rules, won’t you?” he asked with a smile.

She laughed. “Probably.”

He nodded, thinking it over. “I think that sounds good.”

He reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand. She leaned her face against his hand. He leaned in slowly, wanting to savor the moment when he finally got to kiss Amy Santiago. He kissed her gently, prepared to leave it at that for now. As he pulled back, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him back in, deepening their kiss. One of her hands was running through his hair, the other clutching at his back as her tongue found its way into his mouth. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, responding to the kiss with equal fervor.  Jake groaned as his back hit this side of Amy’s car. She took a deep breath as she pulled away. She stared at Jake with eyes full of desire. He couldn’t believe what was happening. His body felt like it was on fire at every point where her body had touched his.

After a few seconds of panting and intense staring, they lunged back at each other. Jake couldn’t believe they were making out in public next to her car. But that didn’t mean he was going to stop. Kissing Amy was incredible. She was on fire and he was happy to burn. Amy broke apart and he moved over to her neck. She groaned as he latched on to her pulse point. It was probably indecent to do in public but he was too far gone. She was rifling through her purse haphazardly. After a small “Aha” she unlocked the car.

He pulled back and looked at her curiously. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard. Pulling away, she looked at him desperately, saying, “Just get in.” All it took was one glance at her desire-filled face and he agreed. He ran around to the other side of the car and soon enough she peeled out of her spot.

He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. She smiled as she looked over at him. “My apartment’s closer,” he informed her.

She looked over and studied him. “My apartment’s cleaner,” she responded.

Jake shrugged. “Your call,” he answered simply. He turned her hand over in his, placing a wet kiss on the inside of her wrist. She sighed quietly from the driver’s seat as he started to kiss higher up her arm.

Before he knew it, they were at his apartment.

**

They were laying in his bed, the sweat cooling on their bodies. “We need rules,” she said, speaking for the first time in a while.

Jake turned his head over to look at her. He smiled. “You know, I figured you’d say that.”

She looked over at him and matched his smile. “I guess you know me too well.” She grabbed his hand where it lay next to hers. She gave it a squeeze.

He pulled her hand up and kissed it. “So what are your rules?” He asked, turning on his side to look at her.

She looked up at him. She opened her mouth and then closed it. All it took was one look from him before she spoke her mind. “I don’t want you to be offended by my first suggestion.”

“Just say it.”

She paused, evaluating him. “I don’t think we should tell anyone…” she replied hesitantly.

“Great,” he answered. “I don’t either.”

She looked at him with a mixture of surprise and happiness on her face. “You don’t?”

“No. It’s no one’s business but ours,” Jake asserted.

“I agree. Plus Rosa and Gina are going to make fun of us,” she reminded him.

He nodded. “Plus Charles will watch every interaction we have super closely. I guarantee it will be creepy.”

Amy laughed. She paused for a minute once she stopped laughing. She looked at Jake seriously. “You’re really okay with this?”

Jake looked at her earnestly. “Absolutely. I like the idea of this just being ours right now.” Amy smiled brightly and leaned up to kiss him softly. “So any other rules?” he asked her.

“Hmm…” she replied, seemingly thinking out loud. “I think it might be nice if we went out on a date before we had sex again…”

“That seems like a good rule even though we’re like _really_ good at it,” Jake added.

Amy laughed. “Like stupid good.”

“It doesn’t make sense!”

Amy laughed harder and curled in closer to Jake.

“Though, I would like to state for the record that I was going to be a gentleman and leave you at your car,” Jake assured her.

Amy scoffed. “So you’re saying you regret this?”

Jake shook his head vehemently. “Not in the slightest.” He turned to make sure she could see his sincere expression. “This was awesome.”

Amy smiled. “Title of our sex tape.”

Jake gasped. He kissed the top her head as she giggled. “I’ve never been prouder of anyone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update this. Pesky grad school got in the way.   
> Updates should come quicker now. My biggest assignments are over for the semester. Plus I have a really good plan for where I want to go with this story. I'm gonna tell you, it's far from over. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! I love hearing from y'all!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for taking so long to update this. I know I said it would be updated quickly and that ended up being a lie. My bad, everyone! Thanks for the people who guilted me into updated this! I'm glad I actually got around to it. I think by the end of this chapter, you should have a good idea of where I want to go with this.   
> As always, please let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your thoughts or what you enjoyed!   
> Thank you for still reading! :)

Jake was pretty dazed as he walked into work the next morning. Amy had rushed out of his apartment that morning to get ready for work. He was still laying in bed as she ran toward the door before turning back to kiss him quickly. She smirked at him saying, “See you at work, Detective.” Jake had to lay there a bit longer to really absorb what had happened in the last twelve hours. And man, it had been amazing.

He clutched his coffee cup tighter as the elevator doors opened and he saw Amy sitting at her desk. It was going to be hard to not think about everything that had happened the night before. To not flash to how she looked or sounded. Or how it felt to have her laying in his arms this morning before they both remembered they had to work. Amy looked up from her desk and smiled at him before quickly scowling. “Peralta, you’re half an hour late for work! Is that coffee really more important than making it to work on time?”

Jake looked at his cup and then back to her. He was so confused. She winked at him and he caught on. “Well gee, I’m so sorry, Santiago. I got so much sleep last night that I’m still a bit tired this morning. Have you ever gotten that much sleep?” Jake smirked at her before he took a sip from his coffee.

Amy glared at him briefly. “Well if you got so much sleep, you could have gotten here earlier. That’s a terrible excuse if you ask me.”

Jake knew he should just drop it. If they went on too long, people might realize something was up. But he was simply not the type to let it go. He couldn’t. “And tell me, what is a better excuse, Amy? Should I say that I was up all night smushing booties with some pretty young thing and that’s why my coffee was so desperately needed?”

Amy choked on her own coffee. She looked around quickly before looking back at him. No one was even paying attention to them. “Jake!” She chided.

He chuckled and sat down in his chair. He leaned forward and she mirrored him. He looked over at the other squad members. Everyone else was still occupied. He looked back at Amy with a grin. “No one is even looking.”

Amy shook her head at him warningly. “Doesn’t mean they aren’t listening.”

Jake looked behind Amy and pointed. She turned around and noted Gina’s empty desk. “Let’s be real, she’s the main concern.”

Amy nodded. “Still. We agreed.” Jake nodded in agreement, holding his hands up in surrender. The last thing he wanted to do was make her mad. Or have her say that last night was a one-time thing.

**

A bit over a week later, Jake and Charles sat down for the morning briefing. Amy was already there, looking beautiful as always. She was excitedly telling some story to Rosa who looked less than enthused. They sat down behind Amy and Rosa as Jake tried to listen to whatever story Amy was telling. Luckily Charles was too tired to talk over Amy’s story. He and Charles had been up almost all night on a stake out. They’d caught their perp not long before dawn. Jake maybe got an hour of sleep before he had to be back at the precinct. They were both yawning when Captain Holt walked in to begin the briefing.

Amy looked over and saw Jake and shot him a small smile before turning to pay attention. Jake smiled at the back of her head.

The captain went over each case, gathering updates and assigning new ones. Amy picked up a B & E that seemed like it would be a dunker. When Holt asked if she wanted a secondary, Jake expected her to say no. To his surprise, she requested him. Jake nodded his assent.

He followed Amy after the briefing. She handed him the case file and he read it as they walked to the car to go to the crime scene. Without him realizing it, they walked to the furthest cop car in the garage. It was pretty secluded. Jake was still going over the case when he got in the passenger seat. He was expecting Amy to start the car, but yet again she surprised him. She leaned over, grabbing the side of his neck and guiding him toward her. She kissed him hard on the lips.

Jake pulled back quickly. “What is happening?” he asked exasperatedly. “I don’t hate it; I’m just curious.”

She giggled. “You were working that case day and night and I barely even saw you at work. And I didn’t get to see you after work which I guess I have grown used to recently. I feel like I haven’t seen you in days. I couldn’t resist.”

Jake chuckled. “So you’re saying that you missed me so much that you decided to basically attack me at work?”

She rolled her eyes. “I didn’t attack you. Sorry that I felt like kissing you.”

Jake reached his hand up to cup her cheek. He leaned back in, almost touching his lips to hers, and whispered, “Never feel sorry for that. I’m not sorry.” He closed the small distance and kissed her slowly. He felt her place both hands along his neck. He moved his hand to the back of her head and deepened the kiss. They kept kissing, growing more heated, until Jake shifted and felt the file slip off his lap. He pulled back quickly to scoop it up. One look between them and they realized their moment was over. They had work to do.

Amy started the car and reached to put it in drive. Jake reached out and grabbed her hand. “Hey, for what it’s worth, I missed seeing you too.” Amy smiled brightly at him and squeezed his hand. Jake groaned. “Oh God, does this make us disgusting? I think this makes us disgusting. I feel like this puts us on Boyle levels.”

Amy laughed. “Yeah, but as Boyle proved, it’s only weird when one of you goes Full Boyle.”

Jake laughed with her, pulling her hand up to kiss the back of it. “Good. Now I feel better. Slightly.” Amy started driving out of the garage when something dawned on Jake. “Wait. Did you only pick me for this case so you could make out with me?” he accused.

Amy scoffed without taking her eyes off the road. “Jake, please. You’re my partner. I picked you for this case because we work well together.”

It was Jake’s turn to scoff. “This case is a dunker, Ames. You picked me because you missed me. And more specifically, my body.”

Amy laughed, looking over at him. “Sure, okay, Jake.”

“Just admit it, Santiago. You just wanted a make out session before work,” Jake goaded.

“Not true,” Amy insisted. “We’re really just great partners.” Jake stared at her as she kept her eyes on the road. At a red light she finally gave in. She looked over and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Okay, maybe I missed them a little.”

Jake cheered and pumped his fist in the air.

**

They had been successful in keeping their relationship a secret. It had been a few weeks and no one knew. Or at least, they were pretty sure no one knew.

Sometimes it was hard, but they kept it normal and professional at work. If the squad went out for drinks after work, they kept it cool. Jake and Amy tended to hang around other squad members so people didn’t wonder about them. If one person decided to leave, the other waited an acceptable amount of time before heading to the other’s apartment.

They basically had it down to a science. And things between them were amazing. They just got each other. Transitioning from friends to dating (well secretly dating) had been mainly flawless. Sure, Amy was cleaner and more organized than Jake was. Sure, sometimes he went with the flow better than she did. But somehow they made it work. Laying awake one night with Amy sleeping next to him, Jake realized that he’d never been as happy has he’d been with her.

For three weeks, things were perfect. Until Jake had a meeting with Captain Holt and Deputy Commissioner Podolski.


	5. Chapter 5

“Self-dismissed!” Jake yelled as he left Captain Holt’s office. Rosa looked up at him, clearly startled by the commotion. He shook his head and walked out of the bullpen. He walked toward the evidence lockup and slammed the door behind him. He was fuming. This shouldn’t be happening. Why could Captain Holt not even see that he was right about Wint? He started pacing in his anger. He wasn’t in there too long before Amy walked in.

“Hey. What’s going on?”

Jake looked up at her. She looked concerned. He shook his head angrily. “I just got told off by Podolski and Holt to let go of this huge thing I was working on. But I’m right,” he insisted.

She leaned against a shelf and folded her arms, staring at him. “So what is this huge thing you had to let go?”

Jake sighed. “Lucas Wint is laundering money and I’m like _this_ close to proving that he’s guilty but now I’m just supposed to drop it.”

Amy nodded, looking like she was thinking things through. Finally she shrugged. “I’m sorry. But you know if Holt told you to drop something, he’s probably looking out for your best interest.”

Jake stared at Amy in disbelief. He shook his head. “Yeah, I guess so.” He walked past her toward the door.

“Jake,” she said, grabbing his arm. He looked back at her, feeling defeated. She was wearing an apologetic expression. “Look, I know that probably wasn’t what you wanted to hear, but you don’t want to do something stupid.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” She smiled, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. He returned her smile. “Thanks, Ames.”

She tilted her head. “For the kiss?”

Jake chuckled. “No, for talking me down.”

She smiled brightly. “Anytime.”

**

Later that day, Jake had convinced Amy to join him on a burglary. Except it wasn’t actually a burglary. He was staking out Wint. He knew he was right about that guy and damn it, he was going to prove it. He looked down at his phone to see a text from Boyle.

“Ugh. Listen to this text Boyle just sent me,” Jake said to Amy. She looked over at him. “I finally know what used napkins at a barbecue restaurant feel like.”

Amy shook her head. “I hate breakups. I hope I never go through one again.”

Jake whipped his head over to look at her. His eyes were huge, as was his grin. “Really?”

She looked over at him, realizing what she implied. “What? No. I didn’t mean that. I just…getting dumped is a nightmare.”

“No, Amy, I think it’s really sweet that we’ve been together like three weeks and you’re already planning our lives together,” Jake said with a laugh.

“Shut up,” Amy pleaded.

“So tell me, when do you see us getting married?” Jake teased.

She reached over and punched him on the arm. “Jake, stop it.”

He kept laughing until he looked out her window and saw Wint. “Get down! It’s Wint!”

They both ducked in their seats. Amy looked over at him, clearly confused. “What? Wint? You said Holt told you to drop that. I thought we were working a burglary.”

“I know. I lied. I’m sorry. But Podolski is wrong. Wint is guilty. Yesterday I saw him get into a car with a known drug dealer. I didn’t have time to take a picture, but today I came prepared,” Jake explained, pulling a camera from the backseat. Amy looked at him, evaluating his argument.

“Did you tell Holt this?” She asked.

“No. I don’t trust him on this. Wint has crazy ties to City Hall and I just don’t think Holt would risk giving up his command,” he reasoned. He sat up further to take a picture of Wint but he was gone. “Wait, where did he go?” Suddenly there was a thud at the door. It was Wint. He’d been caught.

**

Jake started sweating as he stood in front of Holt’s desk. Holt was glaring at him. Jake was thankful to have Amy next to him, even if he was the only one getting punished. Holt stood there silently for too long. Jake didn’t want to press things by speaking first.

Finally Holt spoke. “You disobeyed my direct orders to drop this case.”

“I staked out Wint because I got a tip he was meeting up with a drug dealer,” Jake explained.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Holt inquired.

“Because you told me to drop the case,” Jake answered. “Look, let’s just agree to say sorry on the count of three. One, two, three.” Both men were silent. “See, now I’m just disappointed in both of us.”

Holt didn’t look amused. “This is unacceptable and you’ve crossed the line.”

Jake was waiting for more admonishment when Amy suddenly started speaking next to him. “Sir, I’m Amy Santiago and I have something to say.” Jake could practically feel the nerves coming off of her. “I think you’re wrong.” Jake was shocked. He stared at Holt in confusion. She continued.  “I think Detective Peralta is on to something and you should let him pursue it. I’m Amy Santiago and I’m done talking.”

“Good because this is none of your concern,” Holt replied.  He turned back to Jake. “Commissioner Podolski is bringing you up on charges and specs. You’re facing a six month suspension and you’re on administrative leave until the hearing.” Jake felt his stomach drop. “Now get out of my office,” Holt concluded.

“Fine,” Jake scoffed. He reached for his badge and his gun. “Here’s my gun and my badge.”

“I don’t need those. You’re not suspended yet. You’re on administrative leave,” Holt explained.

Jake picked them off Holt’s desk. “You never let me do anything cool!” he exclaimed as he walked from Holt’s office. He grabbed his bag off his desk quickly and walked toward the elevator.

“Jake!” Amy said, trying to stop him. He turned around and looked at her. He couldn’t miss her concerned expression.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Amy,” he said, turning to get on the elevator. She was still standing there, an agonized look on her face as the doors closed between them.

**

Jake was at home, about four rounds of scotch in when he heard the knock at the door. He decided to ignore it. He was angry and buzzed and he didn’t want to speak to anyone. Another knock sounded. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Why should he answer the door? At the third knock, she announced herself. “Jake, it’s me! Open up!” Amy yelled through the door. “I know you’re mad, but just let me in.”

Jake sighed. He wasn’t mad at her so maybe he should let her in. He walked and stumbled to the door, pulling it open. Amy looked just as concerned as she had when he’d left the precinct. He sighed again. “Hey.”

She recoiled with a grimace. “My God, Jake, how much have you been drinking?”

He stepped back to let her in the apartment. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe a little…” She shot him a knowing glare. “Whatever, Amy. I’m mad. This is stupid.”

“I agree.”

“You do?” Jake asked.

Amy turned around to look at him. “Yes. You’re doing your job. It’s terrible that the higher ups are trying to penalize you for doing what is right because they don’t want to look into the shady dealings of their friends.” Jake stared at her, completely impressed. “Plus, Podolski’s just an asshole.”

Jake picked up his glass. “I’ll drink to that.” He plopped himself down on his couch.

Amy walked over to his kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring herself some scotch too. She came over and sat down on the couch next to him. They sat there silently for a bit. Jake sighed.

“Amy, what am I gonna do?” Jake asked miserably.

Amy looked over at him. “Well, the way I see it, the only way to not get suspended is to prove that Wint is guilty.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, but I can’t exactly work the case. I’m on administrative leave. If I went anywhere near that case, Holt would probably fire me for stupidity.” Jake laid his head on the back of his couch and stared up at the ceiling.

“Yeah,” Amy agreed. “That’s why I’m going to do it.”

Jake turned quickly to look at her. “What?”

“I’ll find the evidence to prove that Wint is guilty. Whatever you need,” she assured him.

Jake shook his head. “Amy, I can’t let you do that.”

“And I can’t let you get suspended,” she retorted. He stared at her, trying to think of how to reply to that. She picked up his hand in both of hers. He looked at their hands. “Jake, you’re a great cop. You have great instincts. I trust you on this. You’re doing the right thing. I mean, maybe you didn’t go about it in the best way, but we can’t let this guy get away with this just because he knows important people. And I can’t let a great cop lose his job because of that either.”

Jake stared at her in disbelief. How was she so amazing? And how was she into him? He shook his head at her in awe. “Amy Santiago, you’re either brilliant or crazy. But either way, I think you’re pretty great too,” Jake said, still marveling at her. She leaned in and kissed him quickly.

Sitting back she said, “Okay, tell me everything I need to know.”

**

It was a week later when Jake sat against a car in the empty parking garage playing back through the day. He had no idea how he’d reached this point. Getting Holt to believe him and Amy had been easy enough with all the evidence Amy had gathered. Getting the warrant approved had been a pleasure for Jake to witness. Who knew Holt had such game? Then they went undercover in the dance competition. Jake had to admit that dancing with Amy had been fun. Really fun. She had the greatest smile as she looked up at him once he started really trying to show her how to dance. She’d even suggested they take a dance class. He actually really liked the idea. And if that wasn’t the best part of the day, finding the evidence to actually prove Wint was guilty certainly was. Jake had felt so confident. He couldn’t wait to shove it in Podolski’s annoying, know-it-all face. But then Holt pulled him aside and after that everything went to hell. He really didn’t know where he was supposed to go from here. His mind was reeling.

“Jake!” Amy yelled, rushing toward him. Jake stood up from the bumper of the car. “What happened? Did Holt tell you to get suspended?”

“No,” Jake explained. “He told me to get fired.”

“Why?” Amy asked, confusion and concern written on her face.

“I don’t know. I’m kinda freaking out. He said to do it and then the next thing I knew I was just yelling,” Jake replied.

“Oh my God,” Amy said, a surprised look on her face.

“Peralta,” Holt called, announcing his presence. He was followed by three other men.

“Hey,” Jake answered. “What’s going on?”

Holt introduced one of the men as an FBI agent. He explained why Jake had to get fired and not expose Wint. Before he knew it, he was being offered an undercover position with the FBI to bring down one of the best crime families. He felt excited to be offered something of this caliber. Without even thinking, he accepted. Holt encouraged him to think about it, but he was in. There was no way he was turning it down. He had always loved undercover work. And with the FBI, it would be so legit. It wasn’t until he and Holt were on their way back to the precinct with Amy that Jake realized that maybe he should have thought about it more.

He looked at Amy from the backseat. What would this mean for them? Maybe he should find a way out of this mission. Maybe he should have talked to her before he just blindly accepted to do this super dangerous thing. What if he died while he was on this mission? He didn’t want his relationship with Amy to be chalked up to one month. He wanted more time with her. He wanted her to know that too. Granted, they’d only been together for a month, but if he was being honest, he could have seen it going somewhere.

He really liked her. Sure he’d never have admitted it this soon, but he might be close to loving her. She just made him happy. She brought out a side of him that no one ever had before. Maybe a month was fast to feel that way, but he’d known Amy for years. On some level, he knew he’d had feelings for her for a long time. It took him way too long to admit it to himself. Even longer to admit it to her. What was he going to do?

They arrived at the precinct and quickly proceeded into Holt’s office. Holt and Jake were talking particulars about his absence. Holt made a comment on how Jake was singularly fit for this mission due to being single and unattached. Jake shared a quick glance with Amy. She gave a small shake of her head, silently telling him to keep their secret. More than ever, Jake just wanted a moment alone with Amy to discuss this. It wasn’t going to happen though.

Soon, the three of them were joined in Holt’s office by Rosa, Charles, and Terry. Captain Holt was explaining what happened. The six of them were the only ones to know the truth. Charles was close to weeping, Rosa and Terry looked impressed, Amy looked supportive. He wanted more than anything to know what her true thoughts were on this assignment. Soon he was yelling at all of them and making a scene as he stormed from Holt’s office.

Everyone stared at him as he packed up the contents of his desk. He came back to the bullpen from changing clothes and most of his friends were gone. Even Amy. He’d really hoped to catch her before he had to leave. The staring continued as he picked up his box of things and headed out of the building. He walked out the front door and thankfully, there was Amy.

“Amy!” he called. She turned around. “Hey, I thought I missed you.”

She walked closer to him. “Pretty amazing assignment, Jake,” she said, surveying his box of possessions. “I’m kinda jealous.”

Jake smirked. “Really? I could help you get fired. I’m really good at it.”

They laughed together. Then there was silence. Jake wondered if she felt as nervous as he was.

“Listen, Amy,” he started. She looked up at him curiously. “Should I have done this?”

“What do you mean? I thought you were excited about this.”

“Yeah, it’s a cool assignment, but what about…us? I never even asked you. I just said yes and then it was all thrown into motion. Do you want me to get out of it? Do you want me to stay?” Jake asked, hoping she knew how she was feeling since he didn’t really know how he was feeling.

She looked at him sweetly. “Jake, don’t turn this down. I would have told you that before you accepted. This is like the best assignment for you. You love undercover work.”

Jake nodded. He swallowed harshly, fighting his instincts so he could say what he wanted to say. “Look, I know it’s only been like a month and I don’t know for sure how long I’ll be gone, so don’t feel like you have to wait for me or anything like that.” Amy looked at him curiously. “But I don’t know what’s gonna happen and if something went down, I think I’d be pretty pissed at myself for not saying this.” He paused as Amy stared at him. “I kinda…love you.” There were people leaving the precinct and Jake looked over at them. “But, uh, that doesn’t have to mean anything. We’re not supposed to have any contact so I should be going. America needs me!” He said, joking at the end. He couldn’t ignore the look on her face. So many emotions were there, he couldn’t read them all.

He started to walk away before she stopped him. “Jake,” she started. He turned around to look at her. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm. “Take care of yourself. Got it?” She demanded with a soft smile. Jake smiled back and nodded before he turned and walked to his car. He paused at his car and turned to look back at Amy. She was still standing there, watching him leave. He nodded at her and she nodded back. He got in his car, stealing his last glance at Amy for an undefined amount of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was fun for me to use some of Charges and Specs for this chapter. I LOVE that episode. It was fun for me to evaluate what would have changed between Jake and Amy if they had actually been a couple at that time.   
> I think the next chapter will likely be the last chapter. I don't know exactly when I'll post it. I expect it will be by the end of the week, but the last time I said that, it took me most of a month to update. Haha! I'll aim for this week though!   
> As always, I would love for you to let me know what you thought, be it in the comments or coming to talk to me on tumblr. It's great hearing what everyone thinks and the parts they liked. Comments really make my day!   
> Thanks for still reading this! I hope you enjoyed it! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Jake spent 6 months undercover. He was working for the Ianucci family and doing some pretty shady stuff. When he’d finally return to his FBI provided apartment, he’d lay there and think about better times. Times when he was just Jake Peralta, NYPD Detective, rather than Jake Peralta, Mob Lackey. He missed his friends. He missed Amy most of all. He tried his best to not think of her too much. He’d given her an out when he left. He didn’t want her to be tied to a ghost while he disappeared to do this assignment. But at the same time, it killed him to think that she’d possibly moved on. It was true what they said about absence making the heart grow fonder. It had been months since he’d seen her and his feelings for her had only grown.

Sometimes when he was really down, he went back over everything he said to her the night he left. He hated how he handled leaving. It was classic Jake being uncomfortable with emotions. She deserved more. He should have given her more. He worried that he might never get the chance to make up for it. Working with the mob was dangerous for sure. The assignment was easily the most dangerous he’d ever undertaken. There was a time when Jake would have been excited for such an opportunity and would have relished every minute of it. That time passed though. Jake spent more and more of his free time worrying about making it back to the Nine-Nine and making it back to Amy. He just hoped Amy would still want him when he got back.

**

What Jake didn’t know was that he was all Amy thought about when he was gone. She looked up from her desk and rather than seeing Jake, she saw his empty desk. His junk wasn’t even there. It was like he’d never worked there. No one ever talked about him. Those of them that knew what he was really up to never mentioned him. They were all too cautious. They couldn’t let any information slip. If they compromised Jake’s mission or his safety, they’d be devastated. There had been a time when someone who believed Jake had been fired suggested they fill the position. Amy freaked out. No one else could sit across from her. That was Jake’s desk.

It was hard living in a world where Jake seemingly didn’t exist. All Amy wanted to do was talk about him. Of course, no one knew that they’d been secretly dating before he’d been sent undercover. Sometimes his absence hit her harder than usual. It was always hard not having him around, but sometimes it was just worse. One time Sarge found her in the janitor’s closet almost in tears. She shrugged and said “I just miss Jake.” He nodded understandingly and sat with her for a minute. He went on and on about how her partner was doing something great. She was relieved, realizing Sarge only thought she missed her partner and not her boyfriend.

It wasn’t until he suddenly was removed from her life that she realized how much of her life involved Jake. For the month before he left, they’d been spending an incredible amount of time together. But even before that, Jake had been a huge part of her life. She’d bounce theories off him, she’d eat lunch with him, she’d listen to his dumb stories, she’d spend long nights trying to solve cases with him. Without even realizing it, Jake had become her best friend. He was always there for her when she needed him.

And then he wasn’t. She couldn’t even talk to him. She couldn’t tell him how worried she was about him. Or how mad she was that he told her he kind of loved her and then just left before she could respond. Or how much she missed him even just being annoying across the desk from her. She couldn’t tell him that she was pretty sure she loved him too. She couldn’t tell him that his comment about her not having to wait for him was idiotic because of course she was going to wait for him. All she could do was try to remember the multitude of things she needed to say to him when he returned.

“ _If he returned_ ,” she thought in the deepest part of her mind. She quickly shut down that way of thinking. Jake would come home. He had to.

**

It was a late night at the Nine-Nine. They had these huge reports due by the end of shift on Monday and they were all way behind. Sarge had the squad staying late to work on them. The squad was miserable. Rosa had said about 10 times that she didn’t join the force to write papers.

“This is stupid!” Gina groaned. Amy turned around to look at her. “It’s Saturday. Even you have to be annoyed by this, Santiago.”

Amy shrugged and turned back around. She looked at Jake’s desk. It’s not like she had anything more exciting to do with her Saturday night. Her boyfriend had been gone for six months.

“I think the stupid part is that we’re here doing this but Holt and Sarge ran off and left us here,” Rosa argued. “What could they be doing that they didn’t include at least one of us in?”

“Maybe there’s an officers’ ball,” Charles offered. “But like only for sergeants and higher.”

Rosa shook her head. “Nah, I don’t buy that. Terry would have been talking about that for weeks. He’d have shown us a picture of Sharon in her ball gown by now.”

Amy chuckled. Rosa was right. There was something fishy going on. Holt said some weird phrase to Terry and they shared a look before they walked back to their desks and left quickly. The squad was stuck working late on a Saturday and their two bosses were doing something shady. It didn’t add up.

It was almost 10:30 when Sarge walked in to the precinct. He walked over from the stairs. He cleared his throat loudly, getting the squad’s attention. Everyone looked up. He was standing just in front of the elevator. “Look, I know you guys have been working for a long time. You’ve been working your butts off and believe me, we appreciate that. Now I know you’re tired and you just want to go home -”

“Are you letting us go home?” Gina asked excitedly.

“No,” Terry said, deflating everyone’s brief excitement. “But I do have a pretty great surprise for you guys!” He cleared his throat again and yelled, “Ta-da!” He gestured toward the stairs. There was nothing there. They all stared at him in confusion. “Let’s try that again, shall we? Ta-da!” Terry said again. Still nothing. Amy looked over at the others and they all looked skeptical. Terry was sporting an annoyed expression. He took a few steps closer to the stairs. “I said Ta-da!” he yelled.

“Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Amy heard a familiar voice say. “I was talking to Daniels.”

Terry walked back to his perch. “Ta-da!” he said for the fourth time.

Suddenly Jake walked to stand next to Terry. “Hey guys!” he cheered, walking into the bullpen.

“Jake!” Amy and Charles yelled in unison. Amy jumped up from her desk and ran to him. She didn’t even spare him a hello before she started kissing him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him. She laid her hands on the side of his face, clutching him to her. She had completely forgotten that the rest of the squad was there. She didn’t know how long she and Jake actually kissed, she only knew that it was the happiest she’d been in months. She finally broke away, still holding his face in her hands. “Hi,” she said breathlessly.

“Hi,” he replied, a smile breaking out on his face.

“Umm…what the hell was that?” Rosa asked, breaking them out of their moment.

Amy turned to look back at Rosa. She kept a hand on Jake’s arm. She had to be touching part of him so he couldn’t leave again. They looked at their friends. Each of them looked dumbstruck. Amy looked over and Jake had a guilty expression on his face as he met her gaze.

“What was what?” Jake asked unconvincingly, looking back at Rosa.

“I believe our friend Diaz wants to know why you and Amy just made out,” Gina explained needlessly.

“Oh that?” Amy said with a laugh, “That was just…me saying hi.” Jake nodded next to her.

“Oh really?” Terry asked as he walked over to his desk. “That’s just how you greet people now, Santiago?”

“Sure,” Amy lied nervously.

“Cut the crap,” Rosa demanded. “What is this?”

“Well for one,” Jake started, “It’s great to see you too, Rosa.” Rosa just scowled at him. “And two,” He looked over at Amy for confirmation. She shrugged. “Amy and I were kind of secretly dating before I went undercover,” Jake said rapidly.

“What?!” Charles shouted. Jake just nodded. “Why did I not know about this?” He demanded.

“No one knew about it, Charles,” Amy supplied.

“Yes, but why?” Gina asked. “Was one of you ashamed to be dating such a total nerd?”

Amy glared at Gina. Jake grabbed Amy’s hand. “Not it at all, Gina,” Jake assured. “We just didn’t want all the judgment and comments.”

“Comments? What kind of comments?” Charles asked. “Also, what was your first date like?”

“Love ya, buddy, but that was a prime example,” Jake answered.

“Okay, at least answer this,” Charles pleaded. “How long were you together before you went undercover?”

Amy and Jake looked at each other and then back at Charles. “Remember Tactical Village Day?” Jake asked. Everyone nodded.

“It was like the Monday after that,” Amy finished.

“That was like a month before you went undercover,” Rosa stated. Jake and Amy looked at each other and then back at Rosa with a shrug. “Nice. Good for you guys.”

“What? Rosa, what the hell?” Charles yelled.

“Think about it this way, we were spared a month of them being gross and lovey dovey all the time. Thanks guys,” Rosa replied with a smirk.

“No! Not thanks, guys! We missed a month of them being all lovey dovey!” Charles exclaimed.

“Listen, Jake, we’re all really happy that you’re back,” Sarge said, “but they were actually all doing some really important work that they should probably get back to.”

They all groaned. Amy finally let go of Jake and sulked back to her desk. Jake sat down at his desk and looked around at how empty it was. Amy sat down to start working again but she was too distracted. She could finally look up and see Jake again. He was smiling at her from his side of the desk. Yeah, she was not going to get any work done.

She saw Terry walk into the break room and she jumped up to follow him. He was over by the vending machine and she lingered by the table. “Sarge, could I ask you a favor?” He turned back with his drink and looked at her, encouraging her to ask. “I know we’re supposed to be working on these reports and all. And I know they’re _super_ important, but I –”

“You can go home,” Terry interrupted.

“What?” Amy asked, shocked.

“I could tell where you were going with that. And in light of things,” he said, motioning to Jake, “I think it would be okay if you left.”

Amy couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, Terry. I really appreciate it. I promise I will come in tomorrow and make up what I haven’t finished.”

“I trust you to finish your work, Santiago. Besides, Terry loves love,” he said with a knowing grin.

Amy went back to her desk and tried to discretely gather her things. She looked over at Jake and nodded toward the elevator. He stood up to leave and she slowly walked toward him and grabbed his hand. They were almost to the elevator when Gina looked up from her work.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” she yelled. “Why is Amy leaving?” Amy and Jake froze and Amy turned back slowly.

“I told Amy she was free to leave,” Terry answered.

“What? Amy gets to skip work because she hasn’t gotten laid in six months? Why is Charles even here then?” Gina rudely asked.

Charles scoffed. “Hey! I’ve had sex in the last six months!” Gina glared at him.

“Look, Santiago assured me she’ll come in tomorrow and finish her work so I told her she could go,” Terry explained.

“Whatever,” Gina sighed. “Well while we’re all here working, I hope you’re having so much fun, Amy.”

Jake grimaced. “This is getting uncomfortable. We’re gonna go.” Amy nodded and followed him to the elevator which thankfully arrived quickly.

**

Monday morning came and Jake was stoked for his first day back at the Nine-Nine. He woke up next to Amy which made his morning infinitely better already. Being back with Amy was incredible. He was so relieved and so happy that she didn’t take him up on his offer to not wait for him. He’d missed her so much. And if their reunion was any indicator, she seemed to miss him too. He had so much he wanted to say to her, so much he _needed_ to say to her. They hadn’t gotten to that quite yet though. Maybe once he was finished with his first day back, he’d focus on what he had to say.

Everyone still seemed happy he was back. It was great to catch up with the squad. Boyle seemed especially thrilled with Jake’s presence around the precinct. That was really no surprise though.

Jake sat down at his desk, happily putting his things back where they belong. Jake looked up and saw Amy smiling as she saw him arranging his things. The warmth in his chest that he’d been missing for six months was back. Everything felt right again.

He had a meeting with Holt and an agent from the FBI to discuss his RICO bust. It was apparently largely successful. “Fifteen of sixteen targets are in custody,” the agent informed him.

“Wait, who got away?” Jake asked.

“Freddy Maliardi. Tac team screwed up and hit up his apartment late and he disappeared,” the agent explained.

“But he’s one of the worst guys. I could go back undercover and see if any of my contacts can tell me where he is,” Jake offered.

“They’re looking for a rat,” Holt said. “And as a former cop, there’s no way they’re gonna trust you.”

“I just think this is too big a risk,” the agent agreed.

Holt continued, “There’s nothing you can do. Sometimes things are just out of your control.”

Jake hated the idea of Freddy Maliardi loose on the streets. He hated the idea that this wasn’t a perfect success. He’d worked so hard for six months. He’d seen so much he wished he never had. How could things just be out of his control? He sighed. He turned around and looked out Holt’s office door. Amy was standing there talking to someone. She looked up and noticed him. She smiled brightly at him before gesturing that he pay attention to his meeting.

Seeing Amy put him at ease again. Yes, there was still a terrible man free when he should be locked up, but maybe Holt was right. Maybe some things were just out of his control. As much as he wanted to catch Freddy, he didn’t want to risk his life (with Amy) to do so. Freddy could just be someone else’s problem.

“Okay,” Jake sighed again. He shook hands with the FBI agent and walked out of Holt’s office.

He strolled back to his desk. Amy came over and sat in his perp chair. “How did your meeting go?”

He shrugged. “It was fine.” Amy looked at him knowingly. “One guy got away, but whatever.”

Amy leaned forward. “You’re not gonna go back undercover to catch him are you? Do you need help? I could go undercover too.”

Jake smiled, very amused by Amy’s willingness to help him. He loved that she just knew how much it irritated him that Freddy was free. “Nah, he’s someone else’s problem. My work is here. With you.”

Amy tilted her head and smiled at him, reaching out to grab his hand. She squeezed it before she stood up and walked back to her desk.

**

Jake was pleasantly unsurprised, thanks to Boyle, at his surprise party. It was great to hear how proud Captain Holt was of him. It felt great to be celebrated with his closest friends. Six months had been too long to be away.

After making the rounds with his friends and coworkers, Jake found his way back to Amy. He presented her with a glass of champagne. They both took a drink while Jake worked up the courage to say what he wanted to say.

“So listen, about what I said before I went undercover,” he started, watching her for a reaction. “About how I…kinda loved you,” he further explained with a slight grimace. She was looking at him expectantly. “That was real. I didn’t want you to think that it was just something I was saying because I was nervous to go undercover. I meant it,” he explained. He stepped closer to her. “I love you.” She smiled brightly, leaning in to kiss him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and returned the kiss.

She pulled back slightly, her arms still around his neck as she looked him in the eye. “Thank you for saying that,” she said simply. He smirked. “And for what it’s worth? I love you too.” He pulled her back in for another kiss immediately. He had been so worried that she might have a bad reaction. That she didn’t feel the same way. But knowing Amy Santiago loved him back? That was amazing.

“Alright, break it up, losers,” Rosa called as she walked over to them. They broke apart, grinning at Rosa. Charles, Terry, and Gina followed her. They all stood around the bar together. “So is this what we’re gonna have to put up with now? You guys making out in front of us all the time?” she inquired.

Jake laughed. “Who knows? Maybe.”

Amy smacked his arm. “No. We will be professional in a professional setting.”

“Sure you will…” Gina doubted.

“I can’t believe you guys dated in secret for so long,” Charles marveled. “I just can’t imagine keeping a secret that long.”

“I’m sure you could do it if you had the right motivation, Buddy,” Jake replied.

“I guess that’s true. I mean I guess I kept it a secret for six months that Gina and I slept together, so...” Charles answered, not realizing what he’d said.

“Charles!” Gina screamed, punching him in the arm.

“What?!” The rest of them yelled in unison.

“Oh my God!” Jake yelled, covering his ears.

“What the Hell?” Terry asked.

“It was a one-time thing. A moment of weakness and confusion,” Gina explained. “Something none of you were ever supposed to find out about. And something none of you will ever speak of again.”

“Good luck with that,” Jake replied with a laugh.

Gina glared at him. “Jake you know what I’m capable of.”

“Gina, I just completed six months with the Mob. You don’t scare me that much anymore,” Jake countered. Gina scoffed and punched Charles one more time before she stalked away from the group.

Slowly the group dissipated and it was back down to just Jake and Amy. “Wow. I guess I missed a lot,” Jake said, shock still coloring his voice. Amy shook her head in disbelief. He looked pointedly at Amy. “And here I thought I just missed you.”

Amy looked over at him. She started laughing. “That was sweet but wow was that cheesy.”

Jake laughed. “Too cheesy or just cheesy enough to work?”

Amy shook her head. “I haven’t decided yet.” She looked thoughtful. “Eh, probably just cheesy enough to work.” She took a sip of her drink. “So I have to ask. In your time with the mob,” she paused. Jake turned and looked at her nervously. He didn’t know how much he wanted to divulge right away. “Did you ever go Upsy-Downsy?” she asked with a giggle.

Jake sighed, chuckling at her question. “Amy we said we’d never speak of it again!”

She laughed out loud. “And again, I never agreed to that.”

Jake shook his head. “You’re the worst.”

Amy chuckled and laid her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, but you love me.”

Jake turned his head and kissed the top of her head. “Yeah, I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end folks! Thank you for all the comments and kudos! I've really appreciated it all!   
> I hope you enjoyed this story. Thank you for reading and encouraging me to keep writing it!

**Author's Note:**

> It's so much more fun to write fics than to write a research paper for a class. So here's another story. And if the procrastination keeps up, it's likely to be updated soon! 
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks for reading!
> 
> I'm on tumblr as three-drink-amy! Come find me and chat! I'd love it.


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